


Jungle Trek

by Bloodyshadow1



Series: Past and Future [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Homeworld Gems - Freeform, Pearlnet, Pearlnet Bomb, Pre-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4702376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloodyshadow1/pseuds/Bloodyshadow1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a couple of one shots for the Pearlnet bomb, some are interlocking some are just on their own. Not much to say really but I hope you read and review</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jungle Trek

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1 of a ? long story for the Pearlnet Bomb day 1 sort of a mix between vacation and Homeworld. I hope you enjoy reading, it isn’t my best effort since I’m kind of out of practice, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. 

They had spent hours trudging through the dense earth forest in silence trying to find a clearing or something to place a temple. It wasn’t uncomfortable exactly for the pearl, she was proud that Rose had selected her for such an important mission, but she was unsure of how to act around the fusion. Even though she had been good friends with Sapphire since they first arrieved on earth she had only met the fusion less than a week ago and they were already going on missions together. To make matters worse Pearl was still agonizing over the first impression she had made on the fusion, which only made things more awkward in her eyes. 

Garnet was something unique to her and to most of their kind, fusion was seen as something dirty and inappropriate on Homeworld, only for the direst of circumstances during battle. Even then the gems who did the fusing were looked down upon for being so weak that they needed to fuse or be broken. That was an outdated ideal though for Rose’s refugee turned rebels, they had all fused at one point or another for battle or for love, Pearl herself had led a battle as Rainbow Quartz and it had felt more amazing than the former servant could describe. 

Still, the idea of Garnet unnerved Pearl and many others on their side. Not that the stoic gem was unkind if quiet, but she represented something that very few were willing to even talk about. Pearl loved being Rainbow Quartz or Coral, and she loved Rose to the point of worship, but still, to be her forever, to lose herself in what she and Rose created… she wasn’t sure if she could ever do that, not even with Rose. It didn’t help that Garnet was silent most of their trudge, maybe it was because she had nothing to say, or maybe it was because Ruby and Sapphire had too much to say to each other, but either way Pearl found the quite unnerving. 

The earth jungle, filled with all their animals of all varieties, the ones with their claws and teeth, Pearl wasn’t afraid of them. They ate meat after all, not decent crystalline beings, which Pearl was thankful for, not to mention gems don’t smell like meat creatures, another thing that she was thankful for. Even if they did though, while she might not be as big as Rose or as powerful as Garnet or Tiger’s Eye, Pearl was still a gem. Even if she couldn’t summon a weapon from her real body she was stronger than most predators on this planet and her swords compensated for those she couldn’t overpower. 

No, the beasts themselves didn’t frighten Pearl, but the noises they made did. Every snapped branch made her glance at the sound’s origin, every growl made Pearl put her hand on the hilt of one of her swords. So to drown out the jungle’s noise Pearl devolved into her nervous habit of talking out loud to drown it out. 

At first she tried to just talk about things like the weather, future battles, if the area was really where they wanted to have a base to strategically retreat to if they had too. But Garnet remained silent, giving a grunt or nod to show she was aware that Pearl was talking. So Pearl decided to switch tactics and instead of trying to make conversation outloud she decided to complain, about the sounds the beasts made, about the wet heat of the jungle, about the bugs that while they didn’t bite gems, they still buzzed annoyingly in their ears, the plants that seemed to go out of their way to trip her, it gave her a lot of material. “I mean I know that it’s beautiful from a distance, but really what planet needs this much green organic life-.” 

“Pearl!” This went on for about an hour until Garnet was fed up, the fusion managed to calm herself down before she poofed the pearl to get some quiet, “P-perhaps we could talk about something else other than what is wrong with the area that might be our bugout base?” 

“Oh so you’re talking to me now,” Pearl asked with a slight grin. “I hoped rambling would work,” noticing the confusion on the fusion’s face Pearl explained. “Sometimes Sapphire would get wrapped up in her own head and be quiet for days since she would over use her future vision to look ahead to the conversations she’d already have. At least she would answer me sometimes though with more than grunts,” Pearl said dancing around Garnet like an elf. “It bothered me when she did that so I decided that I would bother her by complaining nonstop until she stated to actually talk to me. Or I would tease her about her crush on Ruby if she was really quiet, that would get her throwing stuff at me and shouting,” Pearl said grinning with nostalgia. 

“I suppose that we have been a bit quiet,” Garnet admitted with her cheeks coloring a bit, “we are still new at this whole fusion thing,” she said looking at her hands, unused to seeing two gems on her hands, even if they had been there since her creation. “Ruby and Sapphire’s relationship is also new to them so they like talking to each other and when they are me they don’t have to speak aloud. So they would like to apologize for their rudeness and Sapphire would like for me to give you this,” she said and before Pearl could understand what the fusion had said Garnet pushed her. 

One of Garnet’s hands could have covered most Pearl’s whole chest, being shoved with both of them sent the smaller gem flying into a tree. “Are you alright Pearl” Garnet asked realizing how far she threw the smaller gem. “I’m sorry I don’t really know my own strength when I’m Garnet,” she said brushing Pearl off. 

“It’s quite alright Garnet, I was asking for it. What’s a little rough housing between friends… we are friends, aren’t we?” Pearl asked pretty cautiously. 

Garnet could only stare at the pearl and thought about her question, because the truth was she knew as little as Pearl did. There hadn’t ever been a fusion born from the choice Ruby and Sapphire made in the history of gemkind, everything about her existence was new not just to her but to the world. Pearl had been good friends with Sapphire, and she had been friendly acquaintances with Ruby, but while Garnet was Ruby and Sapphire at the same time she wasn’t. Every memory she had of the former servant gem was second hand, like Pearl was a character in a story rather than someone she knew. 

“I-I do not know,” Garnet managed to say even though both Ruby and Sapphire were urging her to say yes. Honesty is the best policy for something like this, “Ruby like you and Sapphire adored you, but I don’t know you as Pearl, not as Garnet. And to be honest, between how we first met, your attempts to get me to talk we haven’t exactly gotten off on the right foot.” Seeing the broken look bloom on the smaller gem’s face though Garnet moved her hand to gently cup the pearl’s face. It was something that surprised both of her halves since it was another move that was pure Garnet, “but if it’s okay with you, I would like to get to know you as me,” she said softly. 

Smiling, Pearl took Garnet’s giant hands into her own and looked up at the amazoness gem, “I’d like that Garnet, I really would. No time like the present as the humans say, after all we are alone out here,” she said getting back on the direction of the trail they were blazing, her adventurer’s spirit burning. 

For a while the two of them made small talk and asked questions to get to know each other better, it helped make the jungle less startling. Everything was going well until a blast of images that she had never seen before shot through Garnet’s mind. Five homeworld gems, a fight, tears running down Pearl’s face, and then they were gone. “Look Garnet there’s a clearing up ahead,” Pearl said a little ahead of her new friend, not noticing Garnet falling behind and clutching her forehead. 

“Pearl wait,” Garnet shouted more out of instinct than knowledge. Before Garnet’s words could reach the smaller gem she froze at the edge of the clearing, the five homeworld gems Garnet saw in her vision were standing there equally shocked as the two of them were. 

End of part 1 


End file.
